You know, I actually kind of like fanfiction
by DC111
Summary: ...and I don't want to see stories, amongst many MANY other things, hindered by ACTA. Do you?  See most recent update for ACTA stuff. Yes, this is just as bad as SOPA and PIPA if not worse.
1. Chapter 1

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Annoying, innit? Wouldn't exactly be a gripping read.

I have been debating with myself the last few days whether it's actually appropriate to do this or not. First off: no, this is obviously not a story. Second: if you're going to whine about that fact, please do keep in mind that YOU, and ALL OTHER AUTHORS and READERS on this website are VERY LIKELY to be affected by the SOPA bill if it passes, _regardless _of what country you are in.

In case you haven't been keeping up with things, the SOPA and PIPA laws are still in fact a threat. And despite them being U.S. bills (which is an embarrassment to the U.S. constitution - free speech, derp), they WILL affect the rest of the world. Crazy, or _what_? That one nation's government would have the audacity to do something like this, that will both contradict its own constitution AND affect other nations, is utterly ridiculous. Whether or not such bills will affect sites like FFN, dA, and Youtube _immediately _is arguable, and indeed, if such sites will be affected at all. But that is _not _a gamble I want to take. You know how it goes. When power is gained they want more. If the bill passes, I'm afraid it'll just be the beginning of a slow but very sure change for the Internet as a whole.

As for fanfiction… Here's the thing. If this bill gets passed, _website owners _can potentially get penalized for anything on their website that could qualify as copyright infringement. What that means for you and me is that even if fanfiction authors themselves aren't penalized, the _websites themselves _will likely set very tight restrictions on what can be posted and what can't be. Just in case, I recommend adding _disclaimers _to your stories if you haven't already. You might actually need them now. And for all we know, that might not even be enough. This bill claims to be anti-piracy, but it is so much more than that. It is censorship. It is termed very _broadly_, which means its meaning can be stretched and skewed. Potentially, if a company wants to claim something is copyright infringement, it will be much easier for them to do so.

I know what many of you are thinking: pshh, won't happen to _me_. Because it never happens to you, right? Sega and Sonic Team (and whatever other companies' fandoms you might type for, do artwork for, make Youtube videos for, etc.) surely won't bother to stop the crazy amount of fan work there is, right? Well, chances are, _right_. But we don't know that for a fact. What if there are Ken Penders' in the industry, just waiting to take advantage of a bill like this? I'm speaking worst case scenario of course – but here's the thing. _Even if such a thing doesn't happen,_ it's not going to change the fact that _websites like FFN, dA, Youtube, and _anything that allows stuff related to copyrighted content (newsflash: Sonic is COPYRIGHTED, GUIZE! ;D) will likely be _forced _to have more restrictions so that they can continue to even _exist_.

Do you like reading stories on here? Do you like writing them? I know I do. If you want to stop this bill, tell your friends, your family, spread the word on sites like Facebook if you use them, post your whining and moaning on FFN or dA like I'm doing, sign petitions (they're all over the Internet, just do a search for SOPA or PIPA petitions), contact your local representative, _do research _on Google (while it's not censored) and see for yourself what these bills are all about – whatever is in your power to do. Just do _something_. Even if, for whatever reason, you think this bill won't affect you… isn't it better to not find out at ALL than to find out the hard way? Come on. It's not that hard to go sign a couple of petitions and share them on the social networks you go on.

This will be deleted in a few days, as it's not a story. But in the meantime, take action. Defend your Internet freedom. This could potentially be a very real problem and limitation for us FFN users (and dA users, Youtube users, Reddit users, social network users, INTERNET USERS). Recognize that _now _instead of waiting until it's too late.


	2. Chapter 2

UPDATE:

Avaaz(dot)org , from what I can tell, currently has the largest petition going at over 1.5 _million _signatures. (And here I thought that 25k one was huge!) It's called Save the Internet, I believe. Just do a Google search (with the word Avaaz in there somewhere of course) and you should find it. They're aiming for 2 million now. Every signature counts. YOUR signature counts.

If you have an account here, on dA, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or any other site that allows you to share content, spread the word. This is something worth giving a crap about, guys. There's also a Google petition that's grabbed upwards of 30k signatures.

Don't wait. This could be passed as soon as the beginning of February. In the past few months, it has been delayed repeatedly because people in the U.S. and in the world have been speaking out. That does NOT mean we're in the safe zone – people need to KEEP doing that and garner as much support as they can. The more the better. Quite a few sources are expecting the bill to pass. And even if it doesn't, we don't want another delay, another uncertainty. Such a bill doesn't deserve to even linger. DO. SOMETHING.

If there's anything else major to update, I will probably just contain it to this 'chapter' instead of adding new ones, so if it matters to you then check back. If you asked me, FFN should have blacked out in protest today like half of the other major websites did. The FFN community of all places needs to oppose this, as it could directly affect us. We read and write stories based on COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL, and copyrighted material is exactly what this bill is aiming to "protect." I say that sarcastically because this seems more like power hunger than an "anti-piracy" act. We are merely writing about the characters and worlds we love, not claiming them as our own, not making money off it. But that doesn't mean anything to them, because with the vague way the bill is worded, people could very well get in trouble for even using copyrighted content "publicly" on the Internet. Don't think it's not possible. Look it up, do more research – see for yourself. And like I said before, even if companies themselves take no action against infringers… the WEBSITES we go on, in order to avoid penalty and stay legal, will have to closely monitor their content or filter it in order to abide by the bill… if it is allowed to pass. We don't know what exactly this could mean for us. I don't want to find out.

But I digress. Since FFN didn't raise any awareness to this issue themselves, the best way to bring awareness to folks around here is to say something. Spread the word. It's up to us. If you care about what you read, what you write, what you can share, what you can say, what you _believe_… now is the time to do your part. Hell, copy and paste some or all of my messages here if you want. Create an alternate account if you're not comfortable using your main, spread the word here on FFN. I dare ya.

If you're amongst those who aren't concerned about this, I suppose I can't convince you. But I'd rather be concerned and over-act than _not _be concerned and have this possibility turn to reality. If you look into it yourself, you'll see I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Many websites like Wikipedia, Newgrounds, Reddit, and some Sonic fandom ones like Sonic Stadium and Sonic Retro have protested this bill, either by blacking out completely or linking to petitions and ways to contact senators. (Most are up and running again by now though.) It's a big deal. Unfortunately, many still expect it to pass. But there is strength in numbers, and the bill will hopefully get weaker with every massive petition and every delay.

Nothing starts until you take action! ;)


	3. Chapter 3

So. SOPA and PIPA have been effectively shelved, and I'm more convinced this time. Doesn't mean things are completely in the clear, but it's good news nonetheless. Be all happy for a moment.

Now for the bad news.

When it rains it storms, and ACTA is a larger threat than SOPA and PIPA combined. Most folks don't think much of it because it hasn't been heard about and made a huge phenomenon like SOPA and PIPA were. That makes it MORE dangerous. It is a treaty type of thing, already been signed by most nations involved in it, including the U.K. and the U.S. I can no longer consider the U.S. a free country. This act has been kept off the radar, deliberately, for years while it was being formed, discussed by governments, and ultimately, signed.

I've heard it could be passed overall as soon as next week. Deviantart has been getting gradually louder about stopping it, which is where I first caught wind of it myself. I've explained further in a journal entry on my account over there, since you can include links on dA. There are links to petitions and info on how ACTA can be stopped. Even if it passes, that doesn't mean it has to STAY that way. It's a loud notion but we can be louder. See the post on dA (click the Journals tab on my profile to get to it, as I don't have my page set up to display the entries on the profile). I am under the same name there as I am here.

Once again, for your sake and mine and EVERYONE'S (because ACTA will affect everyone, whether they know that yet or not), spread the word. Somebody has to.

Regardless of where this goes from here I will probably take it down sometime next week; I'm somewhat uncomfortable leaving a non-story document up for too long for some reason. If there's anything else to share I'll mention it in author's notes when I update on here, on my profile, or in dA entries.

Also, good work to those of you spreading the word. You know who you are (and I do too ;) ).


End file.
